McCaul Statement on DHS’s New Travel Restrictions

Media Contact: Lauren Claffey, April Ward (202) 226-8477

Today, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement on new travel restrictions for flights originating from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. These flights will now be routed through New York’s JFK, Newark, Dulles, Atlanta and Chicago airports and are subject to secondary screening and added protocols before they can be admitted into the United States:

“Putting in place travel restrictions and additional screening measures at our airports is a commonsense proposal, and I am pleased to see DHS make this announcement. In addition to requiring all travelers from at-risk countries to fly through airports with enhanced screening measures in place, I continue to call on the administration to suspend all visas from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.”

Chairman McCaul previously urged Secretary Johnson and Secretary Kerry to temporary suspend visas issued to individuals from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea and recommended that any diagnosed patients should be treated at one of the four U.S. biocontainment units.